Pune: The Mhalunge-Maan Town Planning (TP) scheme, showcased by the state at the Magnetic Maharashtra investment summit in 2018 as a model for planned urbanisation through land pooling, will now be implemented by the PMC.The Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) has begun transferring project records to the civic body following the merger of the villages into Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) limits.The transfer marks a significant shift for five TP schemes that PMRDA spent nearly eight years planning, securing approvals for and preparing for execution. Thousands of landowners remain in limbo, still waiting for the roads, public amenities, and infrastructure promised under the innovative land-pooling model.
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Apart from Mhalunge-Maan, the TP schemes at Wadachiwadi, Autade-Handewadi and two schemes in Holkarwadi will also be implemented by PMC.PMRDA commissioner Abhijit Chaudhari told TOI that the handover process was underway. Officials in the authority’s town planning department said records of the Mhalunge-Maan and Autade-Handewadi schemes had already been submitted to PMC, while documents relating to the remaining three schemes would be handed over next week. “The PMC will be the planning authority and they will take forward the project,” Chaudhari said.Senior town planning officials said all project records, including documents relating to the arbitration process completed by PMRDA, would be transferred to the civic body. “Citizens will have to coordinate with the PMC to take the project forward,” an official said.The five schemes, spanning nearly 768 hectares, were among the first TP schemes in the Pune metropolitan region to receive state approval after years of planning. Based on Gujarat’s land-pooling model, they aim to create roads, open spaces and public amenities by reconstituting land parcels instead of acquiring them outright. Under the approved plans, land required for the proposed Inner Ring Road within these schemes would vest with PMRDA free of cost through the TP mechanism.Besides these five schemes, PMRDA had proposed 15 more TP schemes along the Inner Ring Road corridor. However, these have remained on the back burner following strong opposition from farmers over land contribution and plot reconstitution. While PMRDA has held several rounds of discussions with affected villagers, the state govt is yet to take a final decision on their future.“With no progress in the projects, PMRDA has told the govt that while the town planning schemes were proposed along the Inner Ring Road, severe opposition from villagers means these proposals will require a final policy decision from the state govt,” officials said.Landowners said the transfer has created uncertainty over the implementation timeline. “We have waited for eight long years and now with a new authority, we do not know how long we have to wait for the implementation of the scheme. We hope that PMC starts its implementation and there is a timeline for this project,” said a landowner who has undergone the arbitration process under the scheme.
